7 Eco-friendly alternatives to balloons.

I love balloons. Colourful, cheap and effective but unfortunately we now know them to be terrible for the environment 😩. Usually made from single use plastic, balloons not only go to landfill, but they also pose a significant health risk to farm animals and wildlife.

But fear not, because I have tried and tested some fabulous alternatives that will bring just as much vibrancy and joy to your child’s special celebration. From simple ready made options, to easy DIY projects with the kids.

BALLOON ALTERNATIVES 

1) Paper Garlands

These are not only cost effective and dramatic, but they come in lots of different shapes and colours and are easy to just buy and stick up. They also fold down in to a very small shape to keep and store for another time.

Available in party stores or online market places like Amazon. Just search for paper garlands.

2) Pom poms

Most people have made pom poms in their childhood, you know, with the 2 pieces of cardboard cut in to donuts! It’s a fun project for kids to get involved in and they’re soft and colourful too.

A little trick that I like to do, is bend a wire coat hanger in to a square and wrap the wool around top to bottom many times. When you have built up a good amount of layers, tie wool tightly around the length in regular intervals then just cut in between them! Et voila - lots of little pom poms done in one go.

3) Easy DIY bunting

Any bunting is going to look good, but this is a fun little craft that your child could probably do on their own. 
It requires a length of string, some glue and a pack of colourful paper cake cases.

Just flatten out the paper case and fold in half. Apply a little glue and stick over the string 🙌.

4) Crepe paper streamers

Another simple and cheap ‘buy and use’ option, is crepe paper streamers. Use on their own or combine a few colours together. You can drape them on tables, from ceiling fixtures or along the wall like bunting.

Simple but effective.

5) String lights

A simple way to jazz up some fairy lights, is to add paper cake cases. I mean, you’ve already bought some for the bunting, so you might as well!

Cut a little cross in to the bottom of each case and poke the light through the paper. I used a string of battery powered lights that I already had in the house for this project.

My daughter loved them!

6) Paper balls

Super easy - they arrive flat and all you do is open them out and attach them using the paper clips included - bish, bash, bosh.

Colourful and effective. Probably the best alternative to balloons out of all of these suggestions.

7) Tissue confetti

Easy to buy in bulk and ready made, or use a craft punch to make your own. Tissue confetti is a much better alternative to plastic table confetti 😁.

So there we have it, 7 alternative birthday decorations that are not only cheap, but plastic free and effective.

Danielle x